Flooded
by hyperpsychomaniac
Summary: Branch insists his bunker is the safest place in the village. But even he can't over-prepare for everything. With Branch's bunker in danger, Poppy wants to help her friend. But as Queen, she must put the safety of the trolls first.


The rain fell heavily throughout the night. Poppy slept through it. The troll's pod homes swung high in the trees, safe from rising water. It was only in the early morning, as the sun peeked through the thick clouds, that she looked outside and saw the torrent of water winding its way through the trees, heading down towards Branch's bunker.

Poppy skidded to a halt at the open hatch to the bunker. The torrent of water ran past it, not into it, but it surged and gurgled at the base of the big rock directly above. A pipe had been tossed out the hatch. It spluttered out a trickle of water. "Branch! Branch, answer me."

"Poppy!" Branch appeared below, standing in ankle deep water. He shielded his eyes from the glare of morning light that punctured the clouds.

"Are you alright down there?"

"The pumps broke. They're not supposed to. I had it all mapped out…" Branch trailed off, tripping over his words. He was panting and soaked through. "But they broke. And… Poppy, I need help."

Poppy brought every able-bodied troll to the bunker. They formed a line to pass buckets of water up and out. But despite their efforts, the water steadily rose.

Eventually, Poppy grasped Branch by the shoulder. "Branch, I'm so sorry. We have to get out of here."

Branch shrugged her off, and hurled the bucket he'd just filled at Guy, sloshing half its contents out in the process. "We can't stop!"

"It's too dangerous."

"No, it's not. We have to keep bailing. My bunker's sturdy; it'll hold."

"Your bunker is half full of water. I won't leave trolls down here to drown."

The earth around them let out a deep groan. One of the walls shifted, dumping a chunk of dirt into the floodwaters. The resulting wave sloshed around the bunker, drenching any troll not already soaked through.

"That's it. We're leaving."

Branch grabbed Poppy's arm. Poppy gritted her teeth and rounded on him, ready to snap, but his expression made her stop. It wasn't that ready-to-argue look he usually held whenever they butted heads; instead his face was etched with desperation. "Please, Poppy. It's my home."

Poppy swallowed. "I'm sorry. I can't let anyone get hurt."

Branch's eyes narrowed. "Fine. I'll fix this myself. I'm the only troll in this village who knows how to do stuff like this properly anyway."

"When I said we were leaving, I meant everyone. That includes you."

"But Poppy! I…" Branch glared at her, then looked around at his collapsing home. His shoulders slumped. "Fine."

Poppy cupped her hands to her mouth. "Everyone! Grab the nearest thing, then get out." Maybe they could salvage some of Branch's belongings.

She and Branch waited at the bottom of the exit shaft, letting everyone else out first. Poppy kept a firm hold of Branch's hand. He didn't shrug her off; instead he squeezed her hand back so tight it hurt. Even distracted by supervising the evacuation, the fact he was so quiet tugged at Poppy's heartstrings. Finally, everyone was safely out. "Come on, we have to go."

Branch jerked alert, and patted his pockets. "Wait, where's Gary?" 'Gary', the remote which controlled everything Branch had taken it upon himself to fiddle with in the entire village.

"Someone probably grabbed it. Him."

"No, I have to check."

"It's not safe."

"Get out. I'll be right behind you." Branch dashed back into the bunker.

Poppy balled her hands into fists. "Yeah, right." She followed, sloshing through waist high water.

Branch was in the next room, looking around desperately, trying to push aside floodwater so he could see if the remote was hiding below.

"Frosting, Branch! It's just a piece of equipment, not your kid."

"You don't get it. If the pumps are still working I need Gary to reactivate them from outside. I might be able to save the bunker."

"Can they pump out your ceiling when it falls in?" Poppy sloshed over and grabbed his arm. "We're leaving. Now."

"He's got to be here somewhere."

"What's wrong with you? You're paranoid about everything but your collapsing bunker? This is going to kill us both."

Branch whirled on her, fists bunched, teeth gritted. "My bunker is safe!"

The earth groaned again. An entire wall shifted loose, and slapped into the water beside them. The wave washed them across the room and slammed them into the opposite wall.

Poppy's head spun. She coughed and snorted water out her nose.

"Poppy! Poppy are you okay?"

There was silt in her eyes and everything was a blur. "I'm fine… water… up my nose." Poppy sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

"Come on; I've got you." Branch hauled her up.

Poppy still couldn't see, but she let Branch lead her. When she finally cleared her eyes, they were at the bottom of the exit shaft. Her shoulders sagged. She hadn't quite trusted that was where they were going.

Branch threw the lever that activated the lift platform, and the lift creaked and groaned as it carried them upwards. Then it vibrated violently and ground to a halt, still some distance below the open hatch.

Branch tugged at the lever. "No, no, no."

"Hey guys, grab on!" Smidge was framed in the opening above. She held her hair down to them.

Poppy grabbed Smidge's hair with hers, then grabbed onto Branch. Smidge flung them up and out as the rising water engulfed the platform. They landed on the muddy ground at Smidge's feet.

Poppy rolled over to see the rock above Branch's bunker sink heavily to the side as the hollow space beneath it completely collapsed.

Branch was covered in mud, chest heaving. He stared blankly at the sink hole where his bunker had been.

Poppy gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Branch?"

* * *

**A/n:** This is my first Trolls fic. I'd love it if you left a review. I'll hopefully be able to continue once I find some time to write more.


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